In this post, I only have one thing to add. My position in CNK has been added to. This addition increases my dividend payouts for the third phase of each quarter (i.e. March, June, September, and December). This is in line with my current, and most self-relevant, investing strategy.
This strategy quite simple. It is to have a portfolio of dividend paying stocks from well run companies. The dividend payout of each of these stocks have generally predictable payout dates which allow me to spread my picks out into the three phases of each quarter so that I can eventually equalize my expectations.
That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it.
Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com
CNK - Cinemark Holdings Inc.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Real Economical Solutions Based on Basic Economic Principles
Republicans and Democrats still can't agree on how to fix the economy. As a result, nothing gets done so the Federal Reserve, caught in the middle, ends up doing the only thing they can do, print currency and then lend it to banks for free and use it to buy up the bad mortgage backed securities (MBS) the banks themselves created. The result is that unemployment is still high, the housing market is still lethargic, and home prices are finally going up, but slowly.
The problem I see is that the majority of the politicians are self-serving to their own party so that they can get re-elected verses focusing on the final objective. That objective being to support an economic environment that allows for companies to grow in both financial and employee numbers while protecting the common good of the employees by expecting companies to provide a safe work environment at fare wages. Government has no other duty to perform in this situation at this time.
To accomplish this there is no one simple answer, but there is a list of simple solutions that, when put together, will see results. You will see things that might have benefited you in the past taken away, but you will see others things that will benefit you in the future. Before going any further you must remove yourself from the equation and let all of it sink in.
First, put all the pre-Clinton financial regulations back in place. They were there for what should be, now, obvious reasons. To put it simply, protect the markets up-side bias. The principle of supply and demand will take care of the rest.
Second, simplify the income tax code. A single tax rate, no matter the number, is all that is needed to get those who earn more to pay more. For example, 10% of $100,000 ($10,000) is already 10 times more than 10% of $10,000 ($1,000). Let me put this simply. There is only one reason you shouldn't pay tax. You didn't earn any income to start with.
Third, all taxes should be collected by the state you live in. The states responsibility is to pay their tax to the union. That is the constitutional way according to the general interpretation of the line, "no taxation without representation." A copy of your taxes should go to both the state and federal IRS as a matter of accountability and auditing between your state and the union so that national expenses that serve and protect the public good can get paid, like defence, infrastructure, and routine medical services (antibiotics and band-aids to vaccinations and x-rays; emergency surgery for accidents that created a life-n-death situation is an exception that should also be included). The rest is up to the individual to pay for. Get your own insurance or suffer the consequences. Government medical care is something that should be, and will have to be, weaned off of.
Forth, only charge import tax on non-raw materials. Raw materials still require man hours to make into a final product. And because of that, jobs will have to be created here in the US. Also, the tax can then be collected from the new worker as income tax. As regards to exports, I currently have no solution but I am open to suggestions.
Fifth, and probably one of the most important for individuals and tax revenue, is to increase minimum wage. If lower income wage earners have more income they will be less inclined to need assistance and more inclined to spend more. They see what the "Jones'" have next door, and by default they will try to "keep up." They will be able to feed themselves and still have enough to buy more.
Sixth, and only as minimum wage gets increased, restrict entitlements slowly but drastically. This includes "Obamacare." Now that the "playing field" is leveled, there is incentive not to be sitting at home collecting a check. People will know that if they want something they will have to work for it. People will know that they will have to be responsible for themselves.
The answers to these problems are literally elementary. Essentially, everything is fair and balanced. Everyone pays a fair tax for every dollar they earn. Companies are allowed to hire knowing that their only burden is to pay a fair wage to their employees and all employees know they are to be responsible for themselves. If you think I say this as some self-entitled rich person with a silver spoon in my mouth, you'd be wrong. As of this writing I'm a lower middle-class wage earner that paid, in 2011, an effective tax rate of around 15.3%.
That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it. Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com
The problem I see is that the majority of the politicians are self-serving to their own party so that they can get re-elected verses focusing on the final objective. That objective being to support an economic environment that allows for companies to grow in both financial and employee numbers while protecting the common good of the employees by expecting companies to provide a safe work environment at fare wages. Government has no other duty to perform in this situation at this time.
To accomplish this there is no one simple answer, but there is a list of simple solutions that, when put together, will see results. You will see things that might have benefited you in the past taken away, but you will see others things that will benefit you in the future. Before going any further you must remove yourself from the equation and let all of it sink in.
First, put all the pre-Clinton financial regulations back in place. They were there for what should be, now, obvious reasons. To put it simply, protect the markets up-side bias. The principle of supply and demand will take care of the rest.
Second, simplify the income tax code. A single tax rate, no matter the number, is all that is needed to get those who earn more to pay more. For example, 10% of $100,000 ($10,000) is already 10 times more than 10% of $10,000 ($1,000). Let me put this simply. There is only one reason you shouldn't pay tax. You didn't earn any income to start with.
Third, all taxes should be collected by the state you live in. The states responsibility is to pay their tax to the union. That is the constitutional way according to the general interpretation of the line, "no taxation without representation." A copy of your taxes should go to both the state and federal IRS as a matter of accountability and auditing between your state and the union so that national expenses that serve and protect the public good can get paid, like defence, infrastructure, and routine medical services (antibiotics and band-aids to vaccinations and x-rays; emergency surgery for accidents that created a life-n-death situation is an exception that should also be included). The rest is up to the individual to pay for. Get your own insurance or suffer the consequences. Government medical care is something that should be, and will have to be, weaned off of.
Forth, only charge import tax on non-raw materials. Raw materials still require man hours to make into a final product. And because of that, jobs will have to be created here in the US. Also, the tax can then be collected from the new worker as income tax. As regards to exports, I currently have no solution but I am open to suggestions.
Fifth, and probably one of the most important for individuals and tax revenue, is to increase minimum wage. If lower income wage earners have more income they will be less inclined to need assistance and more inclined to spend more. They see what the "Jones'" have next door, and by default they will try to "keep up." They will be able to feed themselves and still have enough to buy more.
Sixth, and only as minimum wage gets increased, restrict entitlements slowly but drastically. This includes "Obamacare." Now that the "playing field" is leveled, there is incentive not to be sitting at home collecting a check. People will know that if they want something they will have to work for it. People will know that they will have to be responsible for themselves.
The answers to these problems are literally elementary. Essentially, everything is fair and balanced. Everyone pays a fair tax for every dollar they earn. Companies are allowed to hire knowing that their only burden is to pay a fair wage to their employees and all employees know they are to be responsible for themselves. If you think I say this as some self-entitled rich person with a silver spoon in my mouth, you'd be wrong. As of this writing I'm a lower middle-class wage earner that paid, in 2011, an effective tax rate of around 15.3%.
That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it. Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Mark Speaks, Facebook Jumps
Tuesday, as investors anticipated what Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, would say at his TechCrunch Disrupt appearance, the stock price for Facebook climbed and then and held on to a 3.3% gain by the close of the regular session. An hour after the close, Mark took the stage and fielded questions.
The first set of questions focused on the stock price. Mark didn't hesitate to accept that it was disappointing to see it so low, but then, in what always seems like the same breath, began to reaffirm that it doesn't change the long term mission of the company. He insisted that revenue growth is not taking a back seat to the mission of delivering great services to the users, and that he realizes the importance of balancing the two.
In his answer about generating revenue from mobile, he stated that Facebook is seeing greater revenue growth from it's sponsored stories then it ever saw from the right side ads on the desktop site. (A question about accidental clicks comes to mind but was not addressed, nor was user satisfaction.)
Mark also fielded a question about employee moral in regards to the stock price and it's effect on employee stock options. He indicated that the lower stock price provided an opportunity for potential employees who are believers in the mission of Facebook to apply now, or, if an existing employee, to double down.
As for products in the pipeline, Mark clearly stated the position that Facebook will not be going into hardware anytime soon. There is no Facebook phone is in the works. Facebook is, however, looking into other ways to monetize both desktop and mobile. They are very happy with the native Apple iOS version of the Facebook app and will be continuing to improve it, and they are currently working on building the native Andriod version. Without specifying a date, Mark said it would be out soon. When pressed, he said "when it's ready and hopefully not before." Additionally, Mark indicated that "search" as a product is something that they have beem working on, but gave only an example of how it would be used to promote Facebook's mission of openness and social connectivity.
As a point of trivial interest that illustrates Marks understanding of how importent mobile is to Facebook's future, he said that the Letter to Investors that came with the S-1 filing was writen by him on his mobile device.
Everything that I covered above, and details that I left out, resulted in an additional after hours gain of about 3.45%. Current asking price is $20.10. You would think that this would change my opinion of Facebook; hardley! In all honesty, I am not one of those people that believes that Facebook will go the way of MySpace. I believe Facebook does have a long term story. However, I do not believe that Facebook deserves it's current valuation. I am fairly certain that it will continue to move positively the next couple of days, if not longer, but my value analysis of the financials does not make me feel confident with the idea of taking a bullish stance on it just yet. That's my opinion, you can take it or leave it. Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com/
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Portfolio Update
Since my last portfolio update, I have only one change to document. On Wednesday, the 29th of August, I added to my JNJ position. This purchase occurred near the first Fibonacci extension level from it's most recent high. Since then, JNJ has already bounced back up and closed above my purchase price for this position.
As confirmation of my plans for future purchases, I will be focused on adding to my current positions. The speculation portion of my portfolio continues to be put positions against FB as I didn't sell when my principle was doubled at the beginning of August. Although FB didn't rebound much before starting to go down again. Because it's price is eroding so slowly, I have also watched the value of my puts erode as well. I personally believe FB has much more to go down (Facebook Not Remotely Worth 38$) so I might be able to regain some profitable value before their October expiration. That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it. Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com
FB - Facebook, Inc.
JNJ - Johnson & Johnson
As confirmation of my plans for future purchases, I will be focused on adding to my current positions. The speculation portion of my portfolio continues to be put positions against FB as I didn't sell when my principle was doubled at the beginning of August. Although FB didn't rebound much before starting to go down again. Because it's price is eroding so slowly, I have also watched the value of my puts erode as well. I personally believe FB has much more to go down (Facebook Not Remotely Worth 38$) so I might be able to regain some profitable value before their October expiration. That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it. Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com
FB - Facebook, Inc.
JNJ - Johnson & Johnson
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